


Rebirth

by The Red Squirrel (Just_a_Fangirl)



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Book compliant, Historical References, M/M, Reddie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-25 05:04:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12028725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_a_Fangirl/pseuds/The%20Red%20Squirrel
Summary: The Losers had always been destined to stand against It. The only problem was, they had been chosen too early, long before they would ever be able to make their circle of seven. So they kept having to come back, again and again, through every cycle, until at last they were all together and could finally stand a chance.





	Rebirth

**Author's Note:**

> It is now 3 a.m. on September 8th, I have just got back from seeing IT, and if anyone wants to talk about the movie, hit me up on tumblr @ justa-fangirl!

Mike was right, it  _ had _ all been ordained, in a way.

The Other had chosen them all long, long ago, before there were any such things as sewers or Derry or human beings. The Other didn’t really take sides, but balance was important. So if there was It, who took one action, there had to be something to counter that action. It was only fair. 

The Turtle couldn’t help because the Turtle only watched, so The Other had chosen some human beings—the creatures who would be there where It ended up—and imbued them with power by making them a circle of seven. It was the only helping hand The Other really gave them: each other. It _ had  _ to, otherwise it wouldn’t have been a fair fight at all, sending seven flesh-and-bone children up against It. 

And they  _ should  _ be children, The Other knew that much. Children were (or were going to be) It’s favourite prey, and prey had to be able to fight back in its own way. It was only natural.

So The Other chose them, and gave them each other, and then left them to do what they could. Maybe they would win and maybe they wouldn’t. It was all up to them, honestly.

The only problem was, time didn’t exist for The Other the same way it did for humans. 

It chose them all too early.

Bill Denbrough, Mike Hanlon, Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Stan Uris, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom – all of them were destined for this fight long before they would ever be able to be there for it all together. It meant they were drawn to Derry since the beginning of time, even though they couldn't get there right away.    


Bill came first in 1715. His name wasn’t Bill or Denbrough, but he was from the same bloodline. He always would be, and he would always be the same Bill Denbrough, even when that wasn’t his name. 

He came first because that was when the British family that carried his bloodline arrived up the Penobscot River. They didn’t plan to stay—there was no town here yet—but they had been drawn without knowing, because Bill had to be there, and so here they were for a while.  

Of course, Bill never stood a chance on his own. 

When It awoke that year, It felt him right away – the most vivid imagination It had ever found. And It got him. 

Bill’s death was the start of the cycle that year, but it didn’t make much of a story in Mike’s history books, because it wasn’t the type of catastrophe that usually came with It’s awakening. In a way, it was like George Denbrough’s death would be, over 200 years later: the start of the cycle, but practically silent. Sneaky. You couldn’t put your guard up for what was to come because you didn’t know there was something stalking you from the shadows behind. 

So there was no disaster to set down in the records, no devastation to herald in the new cycle that year. Just an 11 year old boy, missing and never found. It was only auspicious, perhaps, because Bill was the first child to go missing here in thousands of years, since the Penobscot had learnt to stop visiting that place where the Kenduskeag stream met the river – that place where evil dwelt below. (In that way, it was like George Denbrough's death, too – auspicious because it was the start of something big to come.)  


This part of the world was wild enough in 1715 that Bill’s disappearance seemed almost natural. His parents looked for him, mourned when they couldn’t find him, and then moved on. They had to. This was the New World, and you had to keep going. There was no looking back.

They may have been more concerned if they’d known their son’s soul was supposed to be destined to fight a monster dwelling under this patch of land that as yet had no name in their language. Because now it might have seemed as if that fight were over. Bill was dead, so surely that meant It had won by default, before any of the other Losers showed up.

But The Other wasn’t stupid. It may not understand time, but at least it  _ knew _ that. 

So when The Other had chosen them, long, long ago, it made sure that they would always be alive when the cycle started – no matter how many lives and cycles it took before they were finally ready to face It properly, together. It wasn’t really breaking the rules; The Other just couldn’t spend all eternity waiting for that split second window of human time when the children should be ready. So it set everything up in advance, like the pieces on a board, and left them sitting until the game was ready to start. It was a game the pieces had to play for themselves—the ultimate high stakes—but that was okay. The Other was happy to let them make their own moves.  


So Bill’s first death didn’t make any difference to The Other's plans. And in 1740 he was back, 11 years old again, still not named Bill or Denbrough, but still the same old Bill Denbrough. And this time, that patch of land where his family settled had a name of its own, too.

This was Derry, at long last, and this was where Bill would be reborn over and over until the final showdown was ready to begin.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this fic does have Reddie, although you may have to wait a while to see it.
> 
> To be perfectly honest, this chapter is basically just a placeholder. I had meant to get this fic underway before the movie, but in the end I haven't had time. (In my defense, it's only because I'm busy doing IT fanart...) I've decided to post this fairly rough Prologue because I was worried that once we get an influx of new fans from the movie, someone else might come along with the same fic idea and post it before me! So here is me saying: "What if the Losers were reborn for every cycle." (Not that I would mind if someone else wrote the same thing, I just wanted to get in first.) 
> 
> (Although, someone has probably already written about this idea under general 'It' fanfiction. I'm just always lurking in the Reddie tag so I don't know what else is out there!)
> 
> I also have to admit I'm playing a bit fast and loose with The Other in this prologue. I don't know if actually has the power or desire to create balance, but that was the impression I got when reading. I was imagining an all-powerful, all-knowing entity that isn't really benevolent, but it will give each side a fair chance.


End file.
